Edmonton Indy: Drivers’ memories carry a solid track record

Thursday, July 19, 2012

By Joanne Ireland, edmontonjournal.com

Dario Franchitti

Photographed by:Supplied, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON - Defending IZOD Indy Car Series champ Dario Franchitti said he is the worst when it comes to remembering where he left his car keys. At least he’s not alone. Several of the drivers said that they are frightfully forgetful about a lot of things, but when it comes to race tracks, they can quickly recall the softest of bumps and the slightest of gradations.

“I am so forgetful. My excuse is all the concussions I’ve had over the years, but I can remember every bump of every track I’ve driven on,” said Franchitti, before he made his way out for Thursday’s track walk at Edmonton’s City Centre Airport.

Prior to the first practice session — one of several on-track happenings schedule before Sunday’s marquee race — the drivers have a two-hour window in which to inspect the track. They could not take out anything faster than a golf cart and even those who did walked certain sections.

“I don’t know why, but I can just replay tracks in my head: braking points, gears, bumps, and it’s something that has served me well over the years,” continued Franchitti, who has four series titles to his name. While he has won just one race this season, it was the iconic Indianapolis 500. Franchitti became the 10th driver in history to win three titles at the track when he claimed the checkered flag in May.

Helio Castroneves, who has had three second place finishes in Edmonton, joked that the drivers might not know how to get to the racetrack but at 100-plus mph around a 2.24-mile track, their muscle memory will kick in.

In their initial look, the drivers and their crews look for run-off areas, brake points, bumps in the pavement, the corners, and whether or not the asphalt has changed. In short, anything and everything.

“I’m looking for surface changes, turning points, those sorts of things. That sinks in overnight” said Justin Wilson, who has been at every event in Edmonton since open wheel made its debut in 2005. He won the event in 2006.

“Most of the tracks we go to,” Wilson said, “are temporary and they change from year to year, just slightly, so even though you might think, ‘I broke at the three marker last year so I have to again,’ you have to relearn different parts of the track because the track surface might have lost grip. There can be lots of little differences that can add up.

“But my keys? I’m useless. I have to be really organized because I’m so forgetful.”

James Hinchcliffe echoed that sentiment.

“Just ask my mom,” said the Canadian driver, currently parked in fifth place in the driver standings. “She’ll ask me to empty the dishwasher and three minutes later I’ll be out the door. I’ve got a terrible memory for certain things like that. But when it comes to race statistics, track analysis, data acquisition, I am like a steel trap.

“At 200-something-kilometres an hour, it’s tough to pick up the little things, so when you walk it, you look at little surface changes, little bumps, little difference in curves. Then you’re not thinking of it when you’re driving, you are conscious of it.”